Travel incentives: the next great motivational tool

As millennials represent a greater share of the workforce, travel incentives will become a popular tool organisations can use to motivate their sales teams.

The Baby Boomer generation is retiring and millennials are filing in to replace them, creating a shift in workplace motivation.

While guaranteed annual salary increases and "Employee of the month" plaques were of the utmost important to the Baby Boomers, the younger generation doesn't exactly feel the same. They're always on the hunt for innovative companies with unique employee engagement experiences that make them feel part of the culture instead of the machine

Nearly half of all respondents to a CareerBuilder survey report they won't stay at their current job for more than two years, leaving many organisations in desperation. How do you retain employees that are determined to leave and, better yet, ensure they're as productive as possible? The answer is simple - staff incentives.

"Travel incentives provide a unique experience."

Shifting market

Executives have long been the beneficiaries of expensed business travel, free new technology and corporate tickets, but now the tables have turned. With many organisations devoting more funds than ever to retaining human capital, staff members of all levels have now come to expect similar treatment.

Employee rewards and recognition programmes are the foundation of effective engagement. If approached correctly, management can successfully draw out the best performances from their sales team - but not every company has a handle on what makes a great programme.

As mentioned before, millennials are constantly searching for a unique experience to motivate their work ethic. This is why many businesses have integrated travel incentives to align with sales performance achievements. It's a trend that's already swept through many of the most successful U.S.-based organisations, with 40 per cent reporting the use of travel incentives to spur sales growth, the Incentive Research Foundation reported. In fact, roughly 86 per cent of all U.S. corporations use a form of non-cash based rewards.

"Travel incentives are a powerful sales motivation tool."

Setting up the right program

The idea of sending employees to Singapore or India sounds expensive on the surface, but the average cost per person is roughly between $3,000 and $4,000, according to the Incentive Travel Council. This expense is accounted for with a typical return on investment of around 112 per cent, Meetings and Conventions reported.

With digitisation and innovation being two of the top Australian HR trends to watch for in 2017, as Chapman CG reported, it's logical to expect that the popularity of travel incentives will proliferate in the coming years. All signs are pointing towards organisations deploying a digital platform that can track and record sales achievements, as well as let employees pick their own rewards.

"Travel incentives on average cost $3,000 to $4,000 per person."

Of course, companies won't receive the maximum ROI if they deploy a half-hearted attempt at integrating these incentives. Simply rewarding the top performer does little to motivate the rest of the staff. While travel incentives should be in the top-tier and reserved for the highest achievers, there should also be other non-cash based compensations available, like concert tickets or the latest computers and tablets. This ensures the programme is reaching all levels of the organisation.

The way the rewards are determined is important as well. Companies can encourage participation by introducing a leader board that assigns points based on certain qualifiers, like the amount of leads obtained or the value of a deal that has been closed. This should be tracked in real-time and visible for the entire office to ensure recognition as well. By gamifying the system, staff members don't see earning these rewards as a task, but rather a challenge.

Travel incentives have become a core component of employee engagement. Businesses are quickly adopting them through third parties as a means to drive productivity throughout the organisation, and it's working well so far.

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